but now up next, presidential debates. they srt next week, a week from tonight. i'll be here in new york, chris matthews will be in denver. the debates are starting. so 8 p.m. wednesday night. you are on notice. you have one week to cancel your plans to be here with us. done deal, the nfl inks a deal to get the regular refs back on the field. >> the presidential candidates tatrostates. good morning, everyone. i'm lyn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc.

we're going to begin this morning with game on. a lot of people happy about this. late last night the nfl reached a tentative deal with its referees ending thi season's lockout. plenrefs spilled over after monday night's contest between the green bay packers and seattle seahawks. the refs awarded a game winning touchdown to seattle though many felt the packers made an interception. goioold.f marathon labor refs have to vote on this deal but roger goodell lifted the lockout in time for tonight's matchup. freg roggin will have full tail fi president obama and mitt romney campaign in virginia today after nearly crossing

pathed in ohio. tracie potts joins us from washington with all the tails. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. let's put virginia in persiv,sint obama won that state after they voted for republicans for over 40 years. then two years after he had been in office, they elected a republican governor. today, t president will try to win virginia ba. present obama and mt roey cagn vni today where median income is 23% higher than the national average and unemployment is way lower, under 6%. like ohio wednesday, the president's expected to hammer romney for hisomments on the 47% of voters who don'tay ta >>on know how many of you will be with me this time around. but -- but it doesn't matter because i'm rning to be your president, to represent everybody. >> we're going to help those who need our help. we're a cpassionate peop

>>or ryen points behind in ohio. that's a bigger gap than nbc and "the washington post" reported. no republicans ever won the presidency without winning this state. >> i'm going to win ohio. i'm going to become the next id bse ingo haup o people in ohio. >> reporter: the two almost passed each other campaigning traveling on the same road through ohio. ohio begins early voting next week. iowa starts today. iowa offials say absentee ballot requests are up 30% in somereasve 2008. >> thanks so much. last night, nancy pelosi talked about mitt romney's decision to pick paul ryan as his running mate and the impact his role could have on t future of mecare shlsolac t democrats could take back control of the house. take a listen. >> we have been working very hard to get to a place to put

the house in play. we did that by, say, late spring, early summer. but when august 11thkt oou calendar, when ryan was chosen, that made a very big difference because medicare, medicare, medicare, the three most important issues in the campaign, that issue was clarified, focus was on it. we cld n loseb about medicare because if we do, forget democrats and republicans, medicare is gone. >> don't miss the "therachel maw show." rebel forces attacked the capital and reported the deadliest day of the civil war there. 340 people are reported to have diedn fighting across the country. plsi a military te van

command center. a skd bomb went off ten minutes later inside the compound and gun battles went on for hours. four guards were killed and 14 others injured in that attack. hers your rst look at some other news going on around america today. aasasoo rur beme a house of horrors for one employee. the worker was forced at gun point to empty three cash registers into the masked roer's bag. the early morning robbery ended when the emploe was shove into a fer a sct escaped. police have not made any arrests. a very special guest arrived at a hawaiian vacation resort in uniquefashion. we have an up close look at it. after an hour of labor, a 12-year-old dolphin gave birth to fefasnight. the dolphin was born inside a man made lagoon where tourists can swim with the dolphins. the baby dolphin is now 30 days

old and doing great. finally this is kind of funny. nbc's green bay affiliate had a ttle ount ese of nfl and that referee controversy. >> this is your replacement weather guy foreca. it looks like it's going to be bad out there, ople. 200 degrees belowtoda ant'll g to heat up. it's going to be le 346 degrees by noon. >> in addition to the odd temperatures, he ao pdi huhuane. the real guy eventually showed up and gave the correct forecast. we're allowed to have replacement weather guys? nobody gavee this memo. >> any time you want. >> really? stre.ll bring people in off t >>t,'de t actually sleep for once? >> no, i would actually sit here

and laugh if you had to deal with them the whole time. >> we would get along, bill. you underestimate me. >> do i? >> yes. >> good morning, everyone. as far as the rain goes, we have very good news out ofklahoma avined through the state. numerous locations saw downpours. oklahoma city picked up two inches of rain. as far as the drought has gone, i know we're not in the growing season anymore, we still need the rains. we still need to fill up the reservoirs in someareas. kansas and oklomare wototend triest over the last month or two. they're the ones getting some of the rainfall. so that's great. as far as the situation goes, kind of had one of the classic battles going on with the cool air moving from the north. warm, humid air to the south. right in the m sl where we're locked in with the showers and thundetorm la. t atio oklahoma city is now dry. almost two inches of rain for you. but as you notice you still have numerous areas of rain in tulsa, oklahoma, three quarters of a inch. significant but not a drought buster. this morning, if you've been

driving the pennsylvania turnpike, you needed the wirs, rt tov tdshe philadelphia area. even a little heavy down pour north of baltimore now. so if you're driving from baltimore back up here through wilmington, delaware, you're gog to get wetn the next half hour or so. be prepared for that. as far as rainfall goes, nothing too heavy outther weseperisfrain. that drought situation there just has gotten worse over the last couple months. this was good news last night. >> yeah, much needed reef. all right,bill, thanks so much. coming up, another union deal. student debt climbs and a new meang forhe term canin co yoirlook" at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, there's a home run derby in baltimore, a new leader in the al central and strike up the band, the nfl referees are coming back. jack, you're a little boring.

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welcome back to "first look." protests in athens turned violent over greece's austerity measures. hundreds of rioters hurled soline bombs andnk martial marble on police. a u.s. army brigadier general is charged with multiple counts of sexual misconduct. generalry sinclair is accused of what the army describ as forced sex with female subordates. mmoffa has now led to the trif way of a home near detroit. a tip from a dying man was credible enough for authorities to announce they'll test the soil samples from underath the driveway though they doubt any remains found would actually be i you thought google maps were a good way to get around town. check this out. users can now navigate their way underwater the pictures of coral reefs are

displayed much le the street view feature. pretty cool there. all right, now hsou "first look" at politics. mitt romney told an audience in ohio they should not look forward to a huge cut in taxes if he's elected. romney said that's because he will also lower deductions and exemptions. in an inrvieith "politico," newt gingrich had some debate advice for romney. gingrich says that when he faces president obama, mr. romney should "not be hostile but be assertive, clear, a dirt and not back off." cpaigngith mro in ohio yesterday was mike row, the host of "dirty jobs." the two agreed that creating jobs is the most important thing that america needs. the "orlando sentinel" reports at jimmy buffet, the mayor of margaritaville, will be doina prmex m to help president obama.

tickets for the private invitation only fund-raiser cost between $500 and $5,000. steve harvey will tapen episode today at nbc in chicago with first lady michelle obama r hew t tal show. he says he is honored. the interview will air next wednesday. and bill clinton told cnn he can't be president in the u.s. again but he does have other options. clinton says because of his irish heritage, he would be elle runorsint in ireland. since his home state of arkansas was part of the french empire before the louisiana purchase, he could run for president of france. but his french is so bad that he asys "within a week i'd be anhar morning dish of "scrambled politics." and now here's your "first look" at how wall street is going to kick off the day. the dow closed at 13,413 after falling 44 points yesterday. the s&p 500 lost eight.

nasdaq was down 24. tang aoo a overseas trading this morning in, tokyo, the nikkei gained 43 points, hong kong, the hang seng jumped 234. mixed housing data and unrest in europe extended the s & p's losing streak on wednday. e anriceneme son stey a record amount. however, sales of new homes dipped slightly. and that took a toll on home builders pulte group, kb and beazer. protests in europe like ts one in spain blunted any optimi about the housing market. thba of spain warned t untree recession. american greetings jumped 17% after the executives said the company could soon go private. the canadian autoworkers union reached a new tentative labor contract with chrysler group yesterday. following silar dea w fond gm. new research from the pugh center finds a record one in five households in the u.s. were

saddled with studentoan debt in 010. that's more than double the number of homes with college debt in 1989. the average amount ed $26,682. u.s. bank and pnc have joined the likes of j.p. morgan chase, bank of america and wells fargo in reporting the web sites have been hacked. crdnisutt tchdog agency which some are blaming on eye ron. red lobster and olive garden restaurants and sears are changing their approach to employee health care. both the companies will soon give employees a fixed sum and allow them to choose their own medical coverage and inrer. >>dna ts may make you a little nervous. this small town has gone to the dogs, literally. the police chief of vaughn new mexico, resigned yesterday. the problem with that? vaughn's only certiedolice force member is a drug sniffing

an shepard named nika. the a's ace dominates, and the tigers play top cat. plus, how to really use your head in hockey. your "first look" at sports is straight ahea nbch"f l o outashissues like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. le the air.

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st night. for more on that and all your sports headlines, here's fred roggin od morni. itk ewnt a numr of blown calls and a monday night debacle for the nfl to come to their senses. the league hammered out a deal ending the lockout with the officials. the regular referees will be back tonight. i really feel like people were starting to warm up to the replacement referees. there noreplemen f sebeba miguel cabrera was on the verge of winning the triple crown. but this was just aong out to left. alex gordon robbed him at the wall and kept the game tied at four. all the tigers needed was textbook base rning twoaor johnny peralta. they broke up the double play. in came the go-ahead run. that was the difference. detroit won it 5-4. the white sox lost. the tigers are in sole possession of first. indians won it 6-4. in the al ea, ykees hado robinson cano ripped an rbi

double to right. yankees were up 2-1. that's all cc sabathia needed. looked like his old self yesterday. struck out ten over eight innings. yankees won it 8-2. orioleare hot on their tails. they hit theoverff t ba chris davis hit a pair of homers. every run baltimore scored came off a home run. they beat the js 12-2. they remain a game and a halfback. finally, the referees endedhe lockout. how about the nhl? if fans want to see their se oy can watch they have t us. the red win is in russia where he channelled his inner renaldo. he headed it into the goal. unfortunately, that only counts in soccer. he use the his head. now let's hope the nhl and owseir whe lockout. that's your "first look" at sports. i'm fred roggin. >> for another look at the weather, let's check back in with bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. they haven't put a replacement in for you yet?

wait asecond, i sen the mem ou ou gtoll your nfl rant tweets? >> you finally explained it to me, yeah. >> it's noefrover now. everyone this morning, new england from tomid-atlantic, hiand miss with thshs dav oa heavy rain just north of baltimore this morning. if you're driving from baltimore to wilmington, delaware, you're going to get heavy rain. there are lightning strikes showing up and significant lightning strikes, too. we'll watch that. trying t work its way from wilmington to philadelphiaver e next ur. itks l y city, just light rain for you over the next hour. of course, the peak of the rush hour it will be a little slow. this hit and miss showers and storms out there today. it will be more miss than anything else. and then later, the forecast period we will see significant rain. tu f mid-atlantic and new england. >> all right, bill, thanks so much. coming up, more war drove woes

for england's prince william and kate. plus, have kristen stewart and robert patteson the reon tot level? you're watching "first look" on msnbc. the new depend silhouette briefs for charity to prove how great the fit is even under a fantastic dress. the best protection now looks, fits and feels just like underwear. we invite you to get a free sample and try one on too.

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welcome back to "first look." fans are remembering andy williams who died tuesday night at the age of 84 aft a year-long battle with bladder cancer. kevitiles takes a look back at h life. ♪ moon river >> reporter: he may not have penned it, but "moon river" belonged to andy william.

♪ i'm going your way >> reporter: the classic handso velvetceoo clean cut, even in the 1960s. and an iowa boy william performed with his brothers before going so. for almost a decade, he hosted "the andy williams show"n nbc. helping to put another group o inbrhers, the osmonds, on the map. the andy williams christmas special was a annual christmas special. ♪ it's the most wonderful time >> reporter: among his acevemtsdndee platinum recordings. >> what he represented was in a chaotic and turbulent time of change, something safe and family friendly. >> reporter: kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. >> well, it is time now for your first ok at entertainment . owre rts

reconciliation, are kristen stewart and robert patteson taki it to the next level? bill is very unhappy about this. >> it's only for the movie, i'm telling you. >> harsh. >> it's young love. us weekly reports that they're once aga livgogrft their brief split due to stewart's affair with the director. a source tells the magazine, however, patteson is on edge. he is extra sensitive, insecure right now. >> can y imagine why? >> meanwhile, okay mazine cretyn aem toir are plannin a mend their relationship. the save your relationship trip. i see. >> it always works, right? >> jenny farley of jersey shore says she is engaged to long time boyfriend roger matthews. congratulations to them. finall there w a r fa pas committed earlier last week during prince william and kate's tour to solomon islands. they were offended when the couple wore festive clothing from the cook islands which are located nearly 3,000 miles away.

that's why i'mlways offended when you wear clothes mn u' o allowed to wear clothes made in new york. >> i don't get that story. >> yeah. i don't have time to explain it. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" starts right now. we have a deal. after three weeks of blown calls and ten minute replay reviews, the nfl comes to its senses and strikes an agreement with the referees. the question, is how soon can we get ed hockly and the boys back on the field? > idoban mitt e ght. romney running parallel campaigns. both in virginia today after following each other around ohio yestery. the question is, with six days until the first debate, what is the romney game plan to turn this thing around? and senator scottrown of massachusetts issues an apology ug on video doing the tomahawk